A pain in the neck: Five frugal things

Well, this never happens. I have been signed off from work for the past ten days with this pesky trapped nerve. This has made me frugal whether I wanted to be or not, as I haven’t been in the mood to go anywhere or do anything! Five frugal things has been a piece of cake. I am glad I chose an easy week of meals for my French student, so cooking has been uncomplicated and easy.

Hosting foreign language students

My student is the first of my five frugal things! If you have a spare bedroom (even if only some of the time, like me), hosting foreign language students is an interesting way to make a little extra money. You are helping a young person get to know another language and culture, and have the satisfaction of watching their confidence grow in a very short period. You make friends from other countries and learn about their culture too. And at the end of their stay you get paid! It is a win-win. I have a whole post on hosting foreign language students here.

Making my own raised work station

I have Access to Work coming to see me when I get back to the office to talk about adjustments to my work station. In the meantime, I have made my own at home! Even browsing the internet or writing a blog post has felt uncomfortable this week, but with this little arrangement I can type standing up. It makes a huge difference, as sitting down for long periods seems to be what traps the nerve in my neck.

It is honestly the most painful thing I have experienced after childbirth, although that mercifully didn’t go on for 6 weeks, as this has.

Finding an internet physiotherapist

I have an appointment booked for physiotherapy in two weeks through the NHS. In the meantime, I have been scouring the internet for advice and came across a great You Tube video with some very helpful exercises from Bob and Brad. I with I had found it earlier as after just two days, the pain has begun to ease a little. I am paying to have regular massage but can’t afford to pay for private physiotherapy too, so You Tube, along with the NHS, have come up trumps!

We may moan about the NHS but we are so lucky to have it and should never take it for granted.

New front door

OK, so a brand new door may seem an one to add to this week’s five frugal things. However, the old one was terrible. Not only did it look tatty, it let in the draughts so badly that the hall was one of the coldest rooms in the house.

We recently saved up for the back door and found the tradesman so good and reasonably priced we thought we would get the front door done too. Mr S had some investments mature and thought this would be a good use of his money. It will save cash on fuel bills for sure!

We are super pleased with it. Have a look at the before and after pictures.

eBay listings

As I have had this enforced period of rest, I have finally got round to washing, ironing, repairing and listing almost all of the items I had stored up to sell on eBay. Hopefully this will bring in a little extra money before Christmas.

Shoestring Cottage needs YOU

Another quick reminder as we are almost out of time. If you get the chance before 31st October, please vote for Shoestring Cottage in the People’s Choice award for the SHOMOS money bloggers award. I would be massively grateful. I am up against bloggers with huge followings so it would be nice to do well. The link is here. Thanks so much to those of you who have already given me their vote!

Have you managed five frugal things this week? Even if you have only managed one or two, please share in the comments below.

I am linking up with Cass , Emma and Becky in their Five Frugal Things linky.

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6 thoughts on “A pain in the neck: Five frugal things”

So sorry to hear you have been in pain with a trapped nerve, Jane. Hope it will be better sooner rather than later.
Love the new front door! But then I wondered what I thought was strange about it compared with our doors, and then I realized – the handle is on the right while ours are on the left, as yo stand outside I mean. But a lovely door, and believe me, a good-fitting door is essential to keeping warmth in. The year before last husband changed the keyholes for those with the little slaps over them, like they used to have in houses years ago. Believe me, they have substantially cut down the draught whistling through the key hole! I would recommend changing keyholes without flaps to anyone who is handy with DIY to change them to those with flaps (escutcheons).
Margaret P

So sorry about your neck. Sounds hideously painful, so do hope the combination of treatments help. Also hope your new door helps rcut draughts – we’ve had three doors fitted where mad previous owners just had gaps, and it’s made a massive difference.

Love the door, is it one of the composite ones? That’s what I’m thinking of changing too and I’ve been quoted anything from £900 to £1300 for the door and fitting. What style of glass is it you’ve had in the panels as that’s exactly the door style I want. I have a really dark hallway, at the moment just a uPVC door with fanlight glass so I want the two panels to bring more light in. And a door knocker so I’m not paying out for bell batteries LOL. Also, what colour is that on the front? I’m planning on having white on the inside but really like that colour for the outside. Thanks!

£900 is a good price! Yes, it’s composite. We paid a little more as we particularly wanted the chartwell green. It is lovely with the windows letting the light in but can’t remember what the design was called. Very happy with it!

Sorry to hear your neck is still giving you gyp. A pain in the neck is exactly that! 🙁

Gorgeous door! Our downstairs is open plan and always cold. Every time someone opens the door in winter, the cold air rushes right round the house, and the rest of the time it blows straight down the chimney, which we can’t block as its a gas fire and there’s nowhere to stuff anything up it! Not sure it’s even advisable to do so with a gas fire anyway!
I guess our next big spend should be saving up to have the windows/doors replaced. Ouch that’s going to be ££££! 🙁